‘Double dipping’ claim unfair

‘Double dipping’ hurts young teachers, Letters Aug. 2

N.J. Settle’s letter seems to lose sight of objectivity by unfairly attacking the role that retired teachers play in their desire to supply teach.

The writer states that in no other profession are retirees allowed to “double dip.” Not true. In the private sector, retired politicians, civil servants, etc. often work as consultants or receive corporate directorships or even post-secondary teaching positions. Are there not a good number of them taking away the jobs of young, would-be aspirants?

The writer also neglects to mention that there are many retired teachers, as myself for example, who retired earlier for various reasons, are collecting reduced pensions, and chose to supply teach to further supplement their income.

And the writer makes no mention of the fact that the government has passed legislation that will limit retired teachers to 50 days of work per school year beginning in September, 2012.

Finally, the writer makes no mention of how difficult it is in the middle of the school year to find qualified individuals to replace principals, vice principals, or specialized teachers and/or take on more challenging assignments that not every supply teacher would want.